Preserving collaboration history with relevant contextual information

ABSTRACT

Preserving collaborative history includes detecting a trigger for a chat session between at least two participants using a processor and, responsive to the trigger, obtaining event data for an event occurring during the chat session and involving at least one of the participants. The event data is included within a transcript of the chat session. In other cases, event data is obtained from external systems that is correlated with the chat session and is included within the transcript.

BACKGROUND

Within various social and/or work environments, individuals are oftenorganized into teams or groups. Members of a team frequently communicatethroughout the day regarding a variety of different topics. While theform of communication used can vary, in many cases members communicateby way of a collaborative session such as a chat or instant messagingsession while participating in one or more other collaborativeactivities such as electronic meetings, conference calls, or the like.The chat session becomes a secondary, or “back,” channel that may beon-going throughout the day and one that takes place concurrently withthe other noted activities to facilitate multitasking.

When a chat session runs concurrently with one or more other activities,the transcript of the chat session often includes general references bythe participants to the other concurrent activities. Without informationrelating to those activities, the actual transcript of the chat sessionmay be difficult to read and include ambiguous references to activitiesoccurring outside of the chat session. As such, the chat transcript mayhave little explanatory value as to the subject matter discussed whenread days, weeks, or months after the fact.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An embodiment can include a method. The method includes detecting atrigger in a chat session between at least two participants using aprocessor and, responsive to the trigger, obtaining event data for anevent occurring during the chat session and involving at least one ofthe participants. The event data is included within a transcript of thechat session.

Another embodiment can include a method. The method can includeidentifying participants involved in a chat session, detecting an eventoccurring during the chat session and external to the chat session inwhich at least one participant is involved using a processor, andobtaining event data for the event. The event data is included in atranscript of the chat session.

Another embodiment can include a system. The system includes aprocessor. The processor is configured to initiate executable operationsincluding detecting a trigger in a chat session between at least twoparticipants and, responsive to the trigger, obtaining event data for anevent occurring during the chat session and involving at least one ofthe participants. The event data is included within a transcript of thechat session.

Another embodiment can include a computer program product. The computerprogram product includes a computer-readable storage medium havingstored thereon program code that, when executed, configures a processorto perform operations. The operations include detecting a trigger withina chat session between at least two participants and, responsive to thetrigger, obtaining event data for an event occurring during the chatsession and involving at least one of the participants. The event datais included within a transcript of the chat session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a communicationsystem having a monitor service.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a server executinga monitor service.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of preserving acollaboration history including relevant contextual information.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of preserving acollaboration history including relevant contextual information.

FIG. 5 is an example of an annotated transcript for a collaborativesession.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer-readablemedium(s) having computer-readable program code embodied, e.g., stored,thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer-readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signalmedium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard diskdrive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium thatis not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber, cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations foraspects of the present invention may be written in any combination ofone or more programming languages, including an object orientedprogramming language such as Java™, Smalltalk, C++ or the like andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer, other programmable data processing apparatus,or other devices create means for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmabledata processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

For purposes of simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shownin the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example,the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative toother elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate,reference numbers are repeated among the figures to indicatecorresponding, analogous, or like features.

One or more embodiments relate to preserving a collaboration historywith relevant contextual information included therein. In accordancewith the inventive arrangements disclosed within this specification, atranscript of a chat session is annotated with data relating to eventsthat are determined to be contextually relevant to the chat session.

Responsive to various triggers detected within a chat session and/orexternal to, and concurrent with the chat session (e.g., othercollaborative activities), one or more events can be identified that arecorrelated with the chat session. Event data for the identified eventsis collected and included within a transcript of the chat session. Theevent data for the event can be included within the transcript inassociation with the particular trigger with which the event iscorrelated and/or at the correct chronological time.

The transcript, in annotated form, is stored or otherwise persisted andavailable for review at a later time. The annotations provide contextualdata that is useful in deciphering and understanding the subject matterdiscussed between the participants in the transcript. The event dataprovides explanatory value and context otherwise lacking from thetranscript of the chat session.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a communicationsystem 100 having a monitor service 125. As shown, communication system100 includes messaging clients 105 and 110, a server 115 executing amonitor service 125, and one or more external systems collectivelyrepresented as external system 120. Messaging clients 105 and 110,server 115, and external system 120 are communicatively linked through anetwork 130. Network 130 can be implemented as, or include, any of avariety of different networks such as, for example, a WAN, a LAN, awireless network, a mobile network, a Virtual Private Network (VPN), theInternet, or the like.

Each of messaging clients 105 and 110 is implemented as a dataprocessing system, whether a computer such as a laptop, a desktop, atablet, a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, or thelike. Messaging clients 105 and 110 execute suitable operationalsoftware such as an operating system and a client-side messagingapplication that enables participation in a chat session 135. A chatsession refers to a synchronous exchange of messages between two or moreusers (messaging clients) that takes place in substantially real-time soas to have the effect of immediate delivery of messages between clientsas opposed to electronic mail, for example. As used herein, the term“real time” means a level of processing responsiveness that a user orsystem senses as sufficiently immediate for a particular process ordetermination to be made, or that enables the processor to keep up withsome external process.

Server 115 executes suitable operational software, e.g., an operatingsystem, and further can execute a server-side messaging application thatallows server 115 to route messages (e.g., text messages, instantmessages, Multimedia Messaging Service messages, or the like) exchangedbetween user A of messaging client 105 and user B of messaging client110 as part of chat session 135.

From time-to-time within this specification, reference to a messageclient, such as any of messaging clients 105 and 110, may also refer to,or reference, the particular user of that client, e.g., user A and userB, respectively. A “user” refers to a human being that operates or usesa particular data processing system such as one of messaging clients 105and 110. Similarly, reference to a user may also refer to, or reference,the messaging client used by that user. For example, when user A sends amessage to user B as part of chat session 135, it is understood that amessage is sent from messaging client 105 to messaging client 110 by wayof network 130 and server 115.

Server 115 also executes a monitor service 125. In one example, monitorservice 125, as executed by server 115, is able to analyze the contentof messages sent between messaging client 105 and messaging client 110as part of chat session 135. In executing monitor service 125 andfacilitating chat session 135, server 115 is configured to detecttriggers within chat session 135. In another example, server 115 isconfigured to detect a trigger by monitoring activities in one or moresystems such as external system 120. In still another example, thatserver 115 is configured to detect triggers both within chat session 135and may occur in external system 120.

In one aspect, the detection of triggers and further processingdescribed within this specification to determine events and event datais performed in real time or in substantially real time as chat session135 is ongoing. In another aspect, the detection of triggers and furtherprocessing described within this specification to determine events andevent data is performed in an off-line manner, e.g., after chat session135.

In operation, user A of messaging client 105 and user B of messagingclient 110 are involved in chat session 135. One or more additionalusers (not shown) also can be involved in chat session 135. For purposesof illustration, however, only two users are illustrated asparticipating in chat session 135 and, as such, are referred to as“participants.” Chat session 135 involves the exchange of a variety ofdifferent messages that can take place over an extended period of time.

During chat session 135, either user A, user B, or both of users A and Bcan be involved in one or more other activities including, for example,other collaborative sessions. An activity is an external activity whenthat activity occurs independently of chat session 135. One example ofan activity that can be external is a collaborative session other thanchat session 135. A “collaborative session” refers to a form ofcommunication that takes place using a communication network in whicheach participant communicates via a suitable communication client thatis communicatively linked to the network. Examples of collaborativesessions include, but are not limited to, a teleconference, anelectronic meeting (e-meeting, e.g., a Web-based meeting that caninclude audio and largely involves sharing desktops and/or applicationsfrom one's computer system), a chat session, etc.

The other, or external, activities in which user A, user B, and/or usersA and B are involved take place concurrently with chat session 135. Forexample, user A is taking part in another activity that is independentof chat session 135 such as a different collaborative session thatinvolves external system 120. The activity can be a telephone orconference call, an e-meeting, or the like. External system 120 is asystem that supports or facilitates the activity. For example, externalsystem 120 can be a teleconferencing system, an e-meeting system, asecurity system, or the like. In any case, external system 120 isseparate and independent of server 115 (and, as such, the chat and/orcollaboration system that supports chat session 135).

Due to user A's involvement in an activity supported by external system120, one or more events are generated such as event 140. Event 140 willvary in accordance with the particular type of external system 120. Whenexternal system 120 is a teleconferencing system, examples of event 140include user A calling into the teleconference system, user Adisconnecting from the teleconference system, etc. When external system120 is an e-meeting system, examples of event 140 include user Aconnecting and/or disconnecting from the e-meeting, a change of speakerin the e-meeting, a task or other item generated during the e-meeting, afile presented during the e-meeting, etc. When external system 120 is asecurity system, examples of event 140 include user A entering aparticular room as may be detected when user A scans or swipes a badgeto unlock a door.

It should be appreciated that the different types of external system 120and different types of event 140 discussed are provided for purposes ofillustration only. The examples provided are not intended to belimiting. Event 140 can be an event from a collaborative activity orsimply an activity, e.g., user A using a badge to enter a particularlocation. In any case, event 140 can be persisted or stored withinexternal system 120. As external system 120 can be queried by server115, server 115 can query external system 120 for event information forevent 140 during chat session 135 or after chat session 135.

In one aspect, server 115 monitors the content of messages exchangedbetween user A and user B as part of chat session 135. Appreciably,since server 115 is responsible for sending messages between user A anduser B, server 115 has possession of each message sent as part of chatsession 135. The messages that are sent as part of chat session 135collectively form transcript 155. Server 115 detects one or moretriggers within transcript 155. As noted, server 115 detects triggers inreal time by analyzing messages when sent or by analyzing transcript 155after the fact, e.g., after chat session 135.

A trigger detected within transcript 155 is detected based upon thecontent of messages and/or, in some cases, the lack of messagesexchanged between participants. In one aspect, a trigger is anindication of an ambiguity within a message of chat session 135 forwhich additional information is needed to provide additional context tothe ambiguity or resolve the ambiguity. The additional information thatis needed is event data relating to an event such as event 140 thatinvolves one or more of the participants of chat session 135.

In another aspect, server 115 monitors one or more different externalsystems for events that take place involving one or more of theparticipants of chat session 135. In that case, the trigger can be theoccurrence of an event in an external system that involves a participantof chat session 135. For example, server 115 queries external system 120for events involving user A and/or user B. The trigger is the detectionof an external activity, such as a collaboration session, that isindependent of chat session 135, but that involves a minimum number “N”participants of chat session 135, where “N” is an integer number such as1, 2, 3, etc.

Responsive to detecting a trigger in chat session 135, server 115queries one or more external systems such as external system 120. Itshould be appreciated that server 115 can query more than one externalsystem to obtain event data for events that take place during chatsession 135 and which involve one or more participants of chat session135 (user A and/or user B). The particular external system that hasuseful event data, for example, may not be known a priori, but ratherdetermined from event data, if any, returned to server 115 responsive tothe query. In another aspect, however, server 115 does determine aparticular external system from a plurality of external systems to querybased upon an analysis of the messages exchanged as part of chat session135.

As illustrated, when a trigger is detected through analysis of one ormore messages of chat session 135, server 115 sends a query 145 toexternal system 120. Query 145 asks for event data for any eventassociated with user A, user B, or both users A and B. Query 145 alsocan specify a time frame of interest or window during which any suchevent would have taken place. This allows server 115 to limit the queryto the time frame either in an around the time of the detected triggeror limit the query to the time frame during which chat session 135 took(or takes) place.

External system 120 locates any events matching query 145 and sendsevent data 150 to server 115. Server 115 determines relevance of thereceived event data to the trigger or chat session 135. When server 115determines that event data 150 is relevant, or correlated, with thetrigger and/or chat session 135, server 115 includes event data 150within transcript 155 to generate annotated transcript 160. In oneaspect, however, obtaining event data that matches query 145 can beconsidered relevant to chat session 135 automatically.

In the case where the trigger is the detection of an activity in whichone or more of the participants of chat session 135, are participatingconcurrently with chat session 135, server 115 can simply send a queryfor event data to external systems from time-to-time throughout chatsession 135, periodically throughout chat session 135, and/or after chatsession 135 has ended. As such, event data need not be retrievedresponsive to a detected trigger within chat session 135 itself.

Annotated transcript 160 provides additional information in the form ofthe event data to lend meaning to vague references to activities thatone or more of the participants are involved in during chat session 135.Annotated transcript 160, through inclusion of the event data, canreference actions or content that a participant is to follow-up on orthat was discussed in an external and concurrent collaborative sessionsupported by external system 120. Event data 150 included withinannotated transcript 160 clarifies the context of the remarks made inchat session 135.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of server 115executing monitor service 125. As noted, server 115 is implemented as adata processing system or programmable data processing apparatus. Assuch, server 115 includes at least one processor 205 such as a centralprocessing unit coupled to memory elements 210 through a system bus 215or other suitable circuitry. Server 115 can store program code withinmemory elements 210. Processor 205 executes the program code accessedfrom memory elements 210 via system bus 215. In one aspect, for example,server 115 is implemented as a computer that is suitable for storingand/or executing program code. It should be appreciated, however, thatserver 115 can be implemented in the form of any system including aprocessor and memory that is capable of performing the functions and/oroperations described within this specification.

Memory elements 210 can include one or more physical memory devices suchas, for example, local memory 220 and one or more bulk storage devices225. Local memory 220 refers to RAM or other non-persistent memorydevice(s) generally used during actual execution of the program code.Bulk storage device(s) 225 can be implemented as a hard disk drive(HDD), solid state drive (SSD), or other persistent data storage device.Server 115 also can include one or more cache memories (not shown) thatprovide temporary storage of at least some program code in order toreduce the number of times program code must be retrieved from bulkstorage device 225 during execution.

Input/output (I/O) devices such as a keyboard 230, a display 235, and apointing device 240 optionally can be coupled to server 115. The I/Odevices can be coupled to server 115 either directly or throughintervening I/O controllers. One or more network adapters 245 also canbe coupled to server 115 to enable server 115 to become coupled to othersystems, computer systems, remote printers, and/or remote storagedevices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cablemodems, and Ethernet cards are examples of different types of networkadapters 245 that can be used with server 115.

As pictured in FIG. 2, memory elements 210 can store monitor service125. Monitor service 125, being implemented in the form of executableprogram code, is executed by server 115 and, as such, is considered partof server 115. Server 115, executing monitor service 125, can detecttriggers for chat sessions, collect event data, determine relevanceand/or correlations between the event data and the chat session, andgenerate an annotated transcript as described within this specification.The annotated transcript is output to, and stored within, memoryelements 210. As used herein, “outputting” and/or “output” can meanstoring in memory elements 210, for example, writing to a file stored inmemory elements 210, writing to display 235 or other peripheral outputdevice, sending or transmitting to another system, exporting, or thelike.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 300 ofpreserving a collaboration history including relevant contextualinformation. Method 300 illustrates an example in which the triggersthat are detected are determined from the text of messages exchanged aspart of the chat session. Method 300 can be performed by a server withina computing environment as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.While FIG. 3 illustrates a method in which a transcript for a chatsession is evaluated after the fact, in another aspect, and as noted,method 300 can be performed in real time as messages are exchangedbetween participants in the chat session.

In block 305, the server analyzes the content of one or more messages,e.g., the transcript, of the chat session between two or more users. Theserver uses various processing techniques to determine whether a triggeris within, or can be derived from, the messages. In one example, theserver applies natural language processing to the messages. Naturallanguage processing can include, locating particular words, e.g.,keywords and/or phrases, recognizing grammatical construction of textand individual words, or the like.

The server, for example, uses natural language processing to determinewhether any message, e.g., the text of the message, includes anambiguity. The ambiguity is interpreted as a trigger. Examples ofambiguities within the chat session that are interpreted as ambiguitiesinclude, but are not limited to, pronouns of various types such as he,she, it, they, them, etc. In another example, the server searches forone or more keywords within the content of the messages.

Other examples of detectable triggers within message text includephrases indicative of the occurrence of an event. Phrases such as “justa minute,” “be right back,” etc., are often indicative of the occurrenceof an event such as the phone ringing or the participant attempting toperform a task such as joining an e-meeting or a teleconference. Theserver can interpret such phrases as triggers indicating that one ormore queries directed to external systems should be performed.

Further natural language processing techniques may be appliedindividually and/or in combination to detect triggers and/or todetermine relevancy (correlation) of event data to the chat session indeciding whether event data is to be included within a transcript. Theexamples include co-reference resolution including anaphora resolution,named entity recognition (NER), relationship extraction, and word sensedisambiguation. Such techniques are generally known in the art, but aredescribed in general terms herein.

Coreference resolution refers to processing a sentence or larger chunkof text and determining which words refer to the same objects. Anaphoraresolution refers to a specific example of this task and relates tomatching up pronouns with the nouns or names to which the pronouns ornouns refer. NER refers to the processing of a stream of text todetermine which items in the text map to proper names, such as people orplaces, and what the type of each such name is in terms of being aperson, location, or organization, for example.

Relationship extraction refers to processing a chunk of text andidentifying the relationships among named entities such as who thesupervisor of whom is, who the relative of whom is. Word sensedisambiguation refers to processing portion of text to determine whichof a plurality of potential meanings is most correct or makes the mostsense in the context of the chat session or messages.

Still another trigger that the server can detect within a chat sessionis the lack of messages being exchanged. A minimum amount of time inwhich no messages are exchanged between participants can be considered atrigger that causes the server to query for event data.

In block 310, the server determines whether a trigger is detected withina message of the chat session. If so, method 300 continues to step 315.If not, method 300 proceeds to block 330, where the server outputs theannotated transcript (or the transcript without annotation if no eventdata is obtained). The annotated transcript can be stored for futurereference.

In block 315, the server obtains event data for one or more events. Inone aspect, the events for which event data is obtained include any thatoccurred during the chat session. In another aspect, the events forwhich event data is obtained include those that occurred at the time ofthe trigger, within a predetermined amount of time prior to the time ofthe trigger, within a predetermined amount of time after the trigger, orany combination thereof.

For example, responsive to detecting a trigger, the time at which thetrigger occurred is determined as the time of the message including thetrigger. Responsive to detecting the trigger, the server sends a requestto one or more external systems. The server effectively queries anyexternal systems coupled with the server asking for events associatedwith one or more of the participants of the chat session that occurredwithin a period of time as discussed and as specified by the request.The server then receives any event data matching the request from theexternal system(s) that received a request.

In block 320, the server determines whether the event data is correlatedwith the trigger. In one aspect, when event data is received thatinvolves at least one participant of the chat session within theenumerated period of time, the server determines that the event data iscorrelated with the trigger. In another aspect, when event data isreceived that involves at least two participants of the chat sessionwithin the enumerated period of time, the server determines that theevent data is correlated with the trigger. The various natural languageprocessing techniques also can be applied to determine whether the eventdata is correlated with the chat session. If the event data isdetermined to be correlated with the trigger, method 300 continues toblock 325. If not, method 300 loops back to block 310.

In some cases, an external system is configured to provide the specificinformation requested by the server. In such cases, for example, theserver can interpret the event data to be relevant to the chat session,e.g., the event data is within the time frame enumerated by the requestand involves one or more enumerated participants. In other cases,however, the external system may provide more generic event data. Inthat case, the server is configured to determine relevancy of the eventdata by analyzing the time of the event data, e.g., the time stamp,and/or whether the event data is for one or more participants of thechat session.

In block 325, the server determines whether disclosure of the type ofevent data obtained in block 315 is permitted. Block 325 can be anoptional processing step that can be implemented to ensure a level ofprivacy for participants. In one aspect, each participant can specifyone or more preferences indicating the type of event data that he or sheis allowing to be shared and, as such, included within an annotatedtranscript. The interface through which the participant can set theparameters indicating sharing preferences can be incorporated into themessaging client, available via a browser based interface for theserver, or the like. In any case, the participant can specify whichtypes of events and, as such, event data, the participant is allowing tobe shared and included within an annotated transcript. These preferencesare made available to the server for making determinations as to whetherpermission has been granted by the participant(s) with which the eventdata is associated or to which the event data pertains for inclusion inthe annotated transcript.

For example, if the event data pertains to only one participant, e.g.,user A entering the cafeteria, then permission for including the eventdata need only be determined for this type of event data and for user A.If the event data is for user A and user B both being on a conferencecall, permission would be required from each user for this type of eventdata. Otherwise, for example, the event data included in the transcriptcan be modified by the server to relate only to the user that providedpermission. For example, the event data would indicate that user A(having provided permission) joined a conference call and not indicatethat user B (not having provided permission) joined the same conferencecall. If neither user A nor user B has provided permission, then theevent data would not be included in the transcript at all.

Accordingly, in block 325, the server can determine the particularparticipant(s) which whom the event and event data is correlated anddetermine whether the participant given permission to disclose or sharethe particular type of event data in question. If so, method 300continues to block 330. If not, method 300 loops back to block 310.

In block 330, the server includes the event data for which participantshave given permission to disclose within the transcript, resulting in anannotated transcript. The event data is inserted in the transcript inassociation with the detected trigger. In one aspect, the event data isincluded in the transcript in chronological order with the messagesincluded therein. Accordingly, the event data, having a time stamp, isincorporated into the transcript in chronological order with thechronologically ordered messages included therein. After block 330,method 300 loops back to block 310 to continue processing.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method 400 ofpreserving a collaboration history including relevant contextualinformation. Method 400 illustrates an example in which the trigger(s)for the chat session are not detected using the text of exchangedmessages, but rather from the external systems themselves. In any case,method 400 can be performed by a server within a computing environmentas described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. While FIG. 4 illustrates atechnique in which a transcript for a chat session is evaluated afterthe fact, in another aspect, and as noted, method 400 can be performedin real time as messages are exchanged between participants in the chatsession. As noted, the server can query external systems fromtime-to-time, periodically, or the like.

Method 400 can begin in a state where the chat session, e.g., atranscript, is selected or identified and the participants of the chatsession also have been identified. Accordingly, in block 405, the serverqueries one or more external systems for events that took place duringthe chat session (e.g., within an enumerated time frame corresponding tothe chat session). In one aspect, the server queries the externalsystem(s) for events involving one or more of the participants of thechat session. As noted, the external system may or may not be able tounderstand a query for event data relating to particular users. In thecase where the external system does not understand such a query, theserver can evaluate the received event data to determine whether theevent data includes or relates to one or more participants of the chatsession. In block 410, the server receives any event data from theexternal system(s) responsive to the query(ies) that were issued.

In block 415, the server determines whether a trigger is detected withinthe received event data. As discussed, in one aspect, the serverdetermines whether a minimum number of participants N of the chatsession are involved in an external activity, e.g., a same externalactivity, concurrently with the chat session. If so, method 400continues to step 425. If not, method 400 proceeds to block 420, wherethe server outputs the annotated transcript. The annotated transcriptcan be stored for future reference.

In block 425, the server optionally determines whether the event data iscorrelated with the trigger. Correlation can be determined, for example,by determining whether the event data provides explanatory value to aterm located within the transcript, e.g., answers a detected ambiguity.The various natural language processing techniques described herein, forexample, can be applied to determine whether event data is correlatedwith the chat session. In another aspect, the event data can be presumedto be correlated, particularly when some minimum number of participantsis also involved in another same activity concurrently with the chatsession. If the event data is determined to be correlated to thetranscript or a message included therein, method 400 continues to block430. If not, method 400 loops back to block 415.

In block 430, the server (optionally) determines whether disclosure ofthe type of event data obtained in block 410 is permitted. The servercan determine the particular participant with whom each event andcorresponding event data is associated and determine whether theparticipant has allowed disclosure of the event data. If so, method 400can continue to block 435. If not, method 400 can loop back to block415.

In block 435, the server includes the event data for which participanthave given permission for disclosure within the transcript, resulting inan annotated transcript. The event data is inserted in the transcript inthe transcript in chronological order with the messages includedtherein. The event data also can be inserted into the transcript beforeor after, e.g., immediately before or after, a message that includes anambiguity that the event data clarifies. After block 435, method 400loops back to block 415 to continue processing.

As discussed, the techniques illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 can beperformed concurrently in that the server can detect triggers within thechat session itself or detect triggers from a review of event data thatis collected.

FIG. 5 is an example of an annotated transcript 500 for a chat session.Annotated transcript 500 is generated by server 115 as described.Annotated transcript 500 includes a plurality of columns labeled 1, 2,and 3, for purposes of illustration. Column 1 indicates whether a rowcorresponds to a message sent from a user, in this case user Jane oruser Bill, or is event data which is indicated as “Event.” Column 2includes time stamps. The time stamp also can specify a date, but is notshown for purposes of clarity and ease of illustration. In some cases, atime stamp is not illustrated for an event, while a time stamp is inother cases. It should be appreciated that any event includes time stampinformation allowing event data for that event to be incorporated intoannotated transcript 500 in chronological order with the variousmessages also included therein. Column 3 includes the actual text of amessage sent as part of the chat session or, in the case of an event,event data describing the event.

Annotated transcript 500 illustrates various different triggers and theparticular event data determined responsive to detecting the trigger.Annotated transcript begins with a first message from Jane at 8:00 AM.At this time, both Jane and Bill are participating in the ProductPlanning E-Meeting concurrently with the chat session.

At 8:00 AM, Jane asks Bill, “can you join us in meeting room b?” Theserver detects the trigger “meeting room b,” which is a location, e.g.,a physical location. For example, one or more locations such as meetingrooms can be designated as keywords and/or a keyword phrase that theserver detects as a trigger. Responsive to detecting the trigger“meeting room b,” the server requests event data from one or moreexternal systems such as the e-meeting system, the security system, etc.As noted, the server can query a plurality of different systems forevent data.

The server receives event data indicating that Jane is currentlyattending the Product Planning E-Meeting from the e-meeting system andthat Jane's badge has been scanned into meeting room B from the securitysystem. The event data indicating that Jane is participating in the“Product Planning E-Meeting” is included in annotated transcript 500 inassociation with the trigger, e.g., following the message in which thetrigger is detected. Correlation of the event data to the chat sessionis determined by the fact that Jane's badge was scanned into the samelocation referred to in a message of the chat session and/or by virtueof the fact that the event data is for Jane. The event data that Jane'sbadge has been scanned into meeting room B is included in annotatedtranscript following the message including the trigger. Appreciably, byincluding the event data following (or immediately preceding) themessage including the trigger, the event data is chronologically orderedwith respect to the messages of the annotated transcript. Correlation ofthe external collaborative session (the Product Planning E-Meeting) isdetermined since the e-meeting involves Jane.

The next event is the creation of a task and event data for creation ofthe task is included following the message in which Bill asks whetherJane can follow up on “that” and further states “I'll create a task.”The server detects the statement about creating a task and also candetect the term “that” both as triggers or as a single trigger (e.g., bynatural language processing and/or keyword search). The server queriesthe external systems to obtain the event data that is included withinannotated transcript 500. In one aspect, given the meaning of themessage and the explicit statement about the task, the server can querya particular external system, e.g., the e-meeting system, as opposed tomore than one or all of the external systems that may be registered withthe server.

In this particular example, the event data includes a link, e.g., ahyperlink, referencing the particular task that has been created duringthe e-meeting or within a project planning system. When the link isselected within annotated transcript 500, the task can be opened, e.g.,within another suitable program.

Later in the day, the server detects another type of trigger that is notdependent upon the content of a message, but which is determined fromthe chat session. In this example, the chat session is ongoing despiteno messages being exchanged. As noted, a trigger that can be detected isthe lack of messages being exchanged for a minimum amount of time. Theserver, responsive to detecting the lack of message exchange, detectsthat both participants of the chat session have engaged in, or areengaging in, a same activity, e.g., joining a same conference call orcalling a same conference call telephone number. Accordingly, the eventdata is included in annotated transcript 500 at the correct time inchronological order.

At 12:06 PM, Jane asks whether Bill would like to meet to “review theseslides”. In this instance, both Bill and Jane are participating in aconference call and viewing slides in an e-meeting. In one aspect, theserver determines that the term “slides” is a trigger that causes theserver to query for event data. In another example, the server ismonitoring and querying the external systems and determines that bothBill and Jane are engaged in a same activity. In either case, the serverdetermines the particular file that is being shared within the e-meetingthat both Bill and Jane are attending via the query submitted to thee-meeting system. The event data indicating the slide being shown andthe presenter is included within annotated transcript 500.

At 12:21 PM, event data indicating that Jane has scanned her badge intothe cafeteria is obtained from the security system and included withinannotated transcript 500. The event data included at 12:21 can beincluded responsive to the detection a trigger which, in this case, is alack of exchanged messages, e.g., a pause, in the chat session. Asnoted, in situations where no messages are exchanged betweenparticipants of the chat session for at least a minimum amount of time,the server can query for events in and around that time frame, e.g., thetime frame corresponding to the pause, to determine whether any eventsinvolving one or more participants have been detected. In this example,the event is only correlated with the chat session (e.g., relevant) dueto the detected pause in messages. Accordingly, as illustrated, thepause is augmented with event data relating to a detected event for oneof the participants. While not directly related to the chat session, theevent (and corresponding event data), is explanatory of the detectedpause in the chat session, e.g., a participant physically moving fromone location to another.

In the message from Bill at 1:05 PM, the server detects the term “this”in relation to “topic.” The server queries one or more systems anddetermines that Bill and Jane are both attending an e-meeting andviewing the file “sales_results.pdf” as presented from the screen ofJohn Doe. The event data is included in annotated transcript 500. Thoughnot illustrated, in another example, a thumbnail view or other previewof the file is presented within annotated transcript. Further, a link tothe file can be included in the transcript.

In the message from Bill at 2:00 PM, the server detects the phrase “thecall” and queries one or more external systems including the conferencecall system. The server determines that both Bill and Jane are attendingthe “Customer Review Meeting” and that both are also dialed into Bill'sconference call number. The event data is included within annotatedtranscript 500.

Subsequently, an instant message is broadcast to multiple members of ateam or group of which both Bill and Jane are members. Because themessage was sent to both Bill and Jane, event data describing themessage and the content of the message itself is included withinannotated transcript 500. In this example, the same message is sent toboth participants and is, therefore, correlated with the chat session.

While FIG. 5 includes columns indicating whether the text is messagetext (i.e., text of messages of the chat session) or event data that hasbeen included in annotated transcript 500, in other examples, theincluded event data can be visually distinguished from conversation textusing other mechanisms. Any of a variety of different mechanism fordisplaying text or other information and visually distinguishing eventdata from message text can be used or applied. For example, Rich Textformatting, e.g., color, different fonts, highlighting, or the like, canbe used.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,”“including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment disclosed within thisspecification. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “inan embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may,but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more thantwo. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a secondor more. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected,whether directly without any intervening elements or indirectly with oneor more intervening elements, unless otherwise indicated. Two elementsalso can be coupled mechanically, electrically, or communicativelylinked through a communication channel, pathway, network, or system. Theterm “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and allpossible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Itwill also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms, as these terms are only used to distinguishone element from another unless stated otherwise or the contextindicates otherwise.

The term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in responseto determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or“in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition orevent]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],”depending on the context.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the embodiments disclosed within this specification havebeen presented for purposes of illustration and description, but are notintended to be exhaustive or limited to the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of theembodiments of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and describedin order to best explain the principles of the invention and thepractical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the artto understand the inventive arrangements for various embodiments withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method performed by acomputer hardware system, comprising: detecting, by the computerhardware system and in a chat session between at least two participants,a trigger, wherein the detection of the trigger is at least from one ofa monitored activity of the chat session or from monitoring an externalsystem, and the trigger is detected either in real-time or after thechat session has concluded; obtaining, by the computer hardware systemand responsive to the trigger, event data for an event occurring duringthe chat session and involving at least one of the participants;determining, by the computer hardware system, that the event iscorrelated with the trigger; and generating, by the computer hardwaresystem, an annotated transcript by appending the event data to a chattranscript of the chat session.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thetrigger is derived from a message sent from a first participant to asecond participant of the chat session.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the trigger is a minimum amount of time in which no messages areexchanged between the at least two participants.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the chat transcript includes messages sent during the chatsession, and the event data, within the annotated transcript, isvisually distinguished from the messages.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the event data is included within the annotated transcript onlyupon a participant of the chat session and associated with the eventdata providing permission to disclose the event data.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the chat session is conducted by a messaging system andthe event occurs within a different system from which the event data isobtained, and the event data is acquired from the different system bythe hardware processor.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the event datawithin the annotated transcript includes a link to the event.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the event data within the chat transcript isincluded in chronological order.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thetrigger is detected in real time.
 10. A computer hardware system,comprising: a hardware processor configured to initiate the followingexecutable operations: detecting, in a chat session between at least twoparticipants, a trigger, wherein the detection of the trigger is atleast from one of a monitored activity of the chat session or frommonitoring an external system, and the trigger is detected either inreal-time or after the chat session has concluded; obtaining, responsiveto the trigger, event data for an event occurring during the chatsession and involving at least one of the participants; determining thatthe event is correlated with the trigger; and generating an annotatedtranscript by appending the event data to a chat transcript of the chatsession.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the trigger is derived froma message sent from a first participant to a second participant of thechat session.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the trigger is aminimum amount of time in which no messages are exchanged between the atleast two participants.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the chattranscript includes messages sent during the chat session, and the eventdata, within the annotated transcript, is visually distinguished fromthe messages.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the event data isincluded within the annotated transcript only upon a participant of thechat session and associated with the event data providing permission todisclose the event data.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the chatsession is conducted by a messaging system and the event occurs within adifferent system from which the event data is obtained, and the eventdata is acquired from the different system by the hardware processor.16. The system of claim 10, wherein the event data within the annotatedtranscript includes a link to the event.
 17. The system of claim 10,wherein the event data within the chat transcript is included inchronological order.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the trigger isdetected in real time.
 19. A computer program product, comprising: acomputer hardware storage device having stored thereon program code, theprogram code, which when executed by a computer hardware system, causesthe computer hardware system to perform: detecting, in a chat sessionbetween at least two participants, a trigger, wherein the detection ofthe trigger is at least from one of a monitored activity of the chatsession or from monitoring an external system, and the trigger isdetected either in real-time or after the chat session has concluded;obtaining, responsive to the trigger, event data for an event occurringduring the chat session and involving at least one of the participants;determining that the event is correlated with the trigger; andgenerating an annotated transcript by appending the event data to a chattranscript of the chat session.
 20. The computer program product ofclaim 19, wherein the trigger is derived from a message sent from afirst participant to a second participant of the chat session.